The Fairness Doctrine has been dead for two decades, but conservatives have …

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The Senate today adopted a ban on the Fairness Doctrine—a much-maligned FCC policy from the 1940s through the 1980s that forced broadcasters using public airwaves to offer multiple points of view on controversial topics.

The ban passed 87-11 as an amendment to a voting rights bill for the District of Columbia. The amendment in question was introduced by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and would have done two things: banned the Fairness Doctrine and also prevented the FCC from passing any "public interest" rules or programming quotas.

Senate Democrats believed that this last bit of the amendment would actually prevent the FCC from enforcing rules about children's television and public safety broadcasting. DeMint apparently disagreed with this interpretation; nevertheless, Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced a resolution of his own that removed the contentious bit but left the Fairness Doctrine ban in place. It also added a bit about promoting "diversity" in media.

Free Press Policy Director Ben Scott, who has followed the issue carefully, told Ars that a similar amendment to the DC House Voting Rights Act has already been introduced in the House by Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), but he noted that the House leadership only rarely allows unrelated amendments to be attached to bills. So does the Fairness Doctrine ban really stand a chance of becoming law?

Assuming that the DC voting bill also passes the House, but without the Fairness Doctrine amendment, House and Senate negotiators will hash out a version that both sides can agree on. If the Fairness Doctrine escapes the Congressional sausage-making, it then goes to President Obama, who has already indicated that he does not support reviving the Doctrine.

This would appear to be a big win for everyone, really, but especially for conservatives who believe the Doctrine will soon be resurrected in order to attack conservative radio. But the Heritage Foundation, a (very) conservative thinktank, argues that the amendment won't actually stop the Fairness Doctrine at all. The group remains concerned that localism and diversity rules will still be used as a means of promoting more progressive points of view.